[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 12, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1388-E1389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              VOTING RIGHTS AND THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise again to address the importance of 
the renewal of the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965.
  Our Nation's growing Hispanic population is gradually becoming 
important in the political arena with the increased involvement of 
second and third generation Latinos. The number of naturalized citizens 
has also increased over the years. All these Americans, whether native-
born or naturalized have an equal right to vote. English-only policies 
are subtle mechanisms that deny American citizens their constitutional 
right to vote. America is supposed to be a country of freedom, of 
democracy.
  Naturalized non-English speaking citizens must endure long waiting 
periods to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy 
centers, whose numbers are scarce due to lack of funding. In New York 
State, the wait lists were so long, the State decided to establish a 
lottery system instead. How can we ask for English-only policies when 
we do not have the requisite infrastructure in place to teach English 
to our citizens, let alone enable them to comprehend the complex 
ballots? Why shouldn't we make voting easier for our citizens? Why 
should we obstruct their ability to exercise their right to vote?
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are forgetting that 
English is not an easy language to learn. The Republican Party is 
alienating a large voting population and running the risk of aligning 
ethnic politics for years to come against them. President Bush has 
always urged his party to engage Hispanic voters to keep Democrats in 
the minority. He is advocating for inclusionary politics. But his 
efforts are being severely undermined by the hard-line politics of an 
overwhelming number of conservative Republicans.
  I emphasize again the importance of the language issues in H.R. 9 
which must be resolved in favor of greater inclusion and assistance for 
language minorities in the extension of the Voting Rights Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I request that the article titled ``House May Chill 
Bush's Wooing of Latino Voters,'' by Charles Babington, published on 
June 30, 2006 in the Washington Post, be entered into the Congressional 
Record.

             House May Chill Bush's Wooing of Latino Voters

                         (By Charles Babington)

       By pushing English-only policies and tough measures against 
     illegal immigrants, House conservatives are endangering 
     President Bush's goal of drawing millions of Latino voters to 
     the Republican Party and helping realign ethnic politics for 
     years to come, according to an array of analysts and 
     officials.
       The latest blow to Bush's efforts to woo Hispanics came 
     last week, when a band of House Republicans unexpectedly 
     balked at renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act, partly because 
     of a 30-year-old requirement that many local governments 
     provide bilingual ballots. The revolt, which forced House GOP 
     leaders to abruptly postpone a vote, came as House 
     Republicans are stiffening their resistance to Bush's bid to 
     allow pathways to legal status for millions of illegal 
     immigrants while also strengthening borders and deportation 
     efforts.
       ``It's sort of a double whammy,'' said Sen. Mel Martinez 
     (R-Fla.), a Cuban native who is among the GOP's most visible 
     Hispanic leaders. Under Bush's leadership, he said in an 
     interview, ``our party has shown a very welcoming approach to 
     the emerging Hispanic vote.'' However, he said, ``there 
     obviously are those who feel that's not important. . . . I 
     think there could be great political risks to becoming the 
     party of exclusion and not a party of inclusion.''
       While the stalemate over immigration legislation will be 
     difficult to break, House leaders predict they eventually 
     will quell the conservative rebellion over the Voting Rights 
     Act and reauthorize the law for 25 years.
       But the depth of House GOP support for English-only 
     policies was demonstrated Wednesday night, when an 
     overwhelming majority of Republicans voted to end funding for 
     the bilingual ballots provision. The effort, led by Rep. 
     Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), failed only because 192 Democrats 
     joined 61 Republicans to vote against it.
       The actions have embarrassed the White House and inflamed 
     many Latinos.
       ``It's offensive and insulting,'' said Cecilia Munoz, vice 
     president for policy for the National Council of La Raza, the 
     nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group. She 
     said the national Republican Party is running ``a real risk'' 
     of replicating the blunder that began unraveling the 
     California GOP in 1994.
       That's when then-Gov. Pete Wilson (R) backed a ballot 
     initiative barring illegal immigrants from attending public 
     schools or receiving social services. The ensuing uproar 
     drove hundreds of thousands of Latino voters into 
     Democrats' arms. The state has backed Democratic 
     presidential and senatorial nominees ever since.
       ``That is exactly the danger that is facing Republicans 
     today,'' Munoz said. She praised Bush, Republican National 
     Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and others who ``know that 
     immigrant-bashing is disastrous to the future of their 
     party--and they're right.''
       Peter Zamora, legislative attorney for the Mexican American 
     Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he believes that 
     House leaders will manage to salvage the Voting Rights Act 
     renewal. However, he said, ``it will be a political challenge 
     to explain tabling the Voting Rights Act to the Latino 
     community if action isn't taken very soon.''
       Both parties are energetically courting the nation's 
     burgeoning Hispanic population, which will become 
     increasingly important as more second- and third-generation 
     Latinos get involved in politics, and as more immigrants 
     attain citizenship and the right to vote.
       Most Latino voters lean Democratic, but Republicans have 
     long felt they can chip away at that advantage. Bush--who has 
     advocated social services and pathways to legal status for 
     illegal immigrants since he was governor of Texas--took 40 
     percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004 after winning 34 percent 
     in 2000, according to exit polls. In league with Mehlman, 
     political adviser Karl Rove and others, Bush has urged his 
     party to pursue Latino voters in numbers that could help keep 
     Democrats in the minority for decades.
       But some GOP activists say the drive is being undermined by 
     the Republican-controlled House's tough stance on immigration 
     and the flap over voting rights.
       Many Southern House Republicans have long objected to the 
     Voting Rights Act's requirement that their states obtain 
     Justice Department approval for an array of voting 
     activities. Last week, in a closed GOP caucus meeting, they 
     were joined by colleagues from throughout the country who 
     object to a measure added in 1975 that requires ballots or 
     interpreters to be available in a number of foreign languages 
     in places where census reports found a need for language 
     help.
       ``Multilingual ballots divide our country, increase the 
     risk of voter error and fraud, and burden local taxpayers,'' 
     said a letter signed by nearly 80 House Republicans and 
     authored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).
       The 2000 Census found that nearly 41 percent of all 
     Hispanic persons 5 years and older spoke English less than 
     ``very well,'' and those eligible to vote needed language 
     assistance.
       John Bueno, a Republican from Michigan, is president of the 
     National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed 
     Officials, which was meeting in Dallas last week when news of 
     the voting rights flap broke. ``My first reaction was, 'My 
     God, here we are, it's 2006, and we're still dealing with 
     this issue,' `` Bueno said. ``Mainstream Republicans are 
     frustrated right now with what's going on in Congress.''
       Latino Democrats, meanwhile, can hardly believe how Bush's 
     overtures are being thwarted by his own party. By stressing 
     English-only policies and stumbling on the immigration and 
     Voting Rights Act issues, congressional Republicans ``either 
     made the best case for switching the Congress from Republican 
     to Democratic control, or they made the best case for their 
     own incompetence,'' said Pedro Colon, a Wisconsin legislator 
     who attended the Dallas convention. ``As a Democrat, I'm 
     really optimistic about our opportunities.''

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